Safety inspection blitz of oil shipments launched WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal inspection teams have been conducting spot safety checks of rail shipments of crude oil from the booming Bakken oil region in Great Plains states in response to last month's rail disaster in Canada, U.S. officials said Thursday. The official name of the inspections is "Operation Classification," although Cynthia Quarterman, head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said she prefers to call th...

US readies possible solo action against Syria WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday prepared for the possibility of launching unilateral American military action against Syria within days as Britain opted out in a stunning vote by Parliament. Facing skepticism at home, too, the administration shared intelligence with lawmakers aimed at convincing them the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people and must be punished. Despite roadblocks in forming an intern...

Beebe praises water plant, decries hypocrites HARRISON (AP) — Gov. Mike Beebe criticized hypocrites at the dedication of a northern Arkansas water utility, saying that if people opposed federal stimulus money they shouldn't be celebrating the opening of a $72 million facility that will bring reliable water service to 20,000 people. Beebe dedicated the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority on Wednesday. He said that with no political plans beyond the governor's office he wasn't co...

Hearing set over Buffalo River permits YELLVILLE (AP) — A public hearing will be held in Yellville to receive comments on the proposed renewal of two wastewater discharge permits for National Park Service facilities located on the Buffalo River. The event is set for Oct. 1 and begins at 6 p.m. at the Yellville-Summit school district cafeteria. The affected facilities are the Buffalo Point Lower Plant and the Buffalo Point Upper Plant —both located about 17 miles south of Yellville....

Lieutenant governor. drops out of race for Congress LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr said Thursday that he's dropping out of the race to represent south Arkansas in Congress amid ethics questions over his campaign finance reports. The decision came less than three weeks after Darr announced he was seeking the 4th District seat, hoping to replace incumbent Tom Cotton. Cotton, a Republican, is challenging Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor next year. "After careful thought and deliberatio...

Womack leads heated discussion at town hallRepublican Rep. Steve Womack from northwest Arkansas’ 3rd District discussed immigration, Obamacare, tax policy, veterans issues, debts and deficits at Tuesday’s town hall meeting at Russellville City Hall. The discussion got heated as members of the audience expressed differing opinions on immigration and Obamacare. Blanca Estevez, 26, from Rogers said immigration is a “human issue.” She said she was frustrated with the views the older, white...

Obama: Syrian government carried out chemical attack WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared unequivocally that the United States has "concluded" that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians. Yet U.S. intelligence officials say questions remain about whether the attack could be linked to Syrian President Bashar Assad or high officials in his government. Obama did not present any direct evidence to back up his assertion that the Syria...

MLK's dream inspires a new march, and a president WASHINGTON (AP) — Standing on hallowed ground of the civil rights movement, President Barack Obama challenged new generations Wednesday to seize the cause of racial equality and honor the "glorious patriots" who marched a half century ago to the very steps from which Rev. Martin Luther King spoke during the March on Washington. In a moment rich with history and symbolism, tens of thousands of Americans of all backgrounds and colors thronged to...

Arkansas schools defend plans to arm employees LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The superintendents of two Arkansas school districts defended training teachers and staff as volunteer security guards before a legislative panel looking at whether changes in state law are needed after a licensing panel blocked the schools' efforts to arm employees. The superintendents of the Clarksville and Lake Hamilton school districts said they believed their plans to arm employees under a little-known state licensing l...

Governor sets election for ex-senator's seat LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has set the dates for a special election to replace a former state senator who resigned after a state ethics panel said he spent thousands in campaign dollars on personal items. Beebe on Wednesday set Jan. 14 as the date of the special election to fill the vacancy left by Democratic Sen. Paul Bookout's resignation. Bookout resigned last week after he was fined $8,000 and reprimanded by the Ethics Com...

Cotton headlines Lincoln dinnerU.S. Rep. Tom Cotton said at Monday’s Lincoln Day Dinner that the Republican Party of 2013 has the same foundation it had hundreds of years ago. He was the keynote speaker at the dinner, which was hosted by the Republican Party of Pope County and attended by more than 400 people. “We still stand for the same values as Republicans did when Abe Lincoln was in office,” Cotton said. He said the Democratic Party has failed its members with its chan...

US readies rationale for possible Syria strike WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration tried to bolster its case Tuesday for possible military action against Syria within days, with intelligence agencies preparing to release intercepted communications aimed at proving Bashar Assad perpetrated a large-scale chemical weapons attack on civilians. "There's no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria: the Syrian regime," Vice President Joe Biden said. The U....

US consumer confidence rises in August WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' confidence in the economy inched closer to a 5 ½-year high on growing optimism that hiring and wages could pick up in coming months. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 81.5 in August. That's up from a revised reading of 81 in July. And it's just below the 82.1 reading in June, which was the highest since January 2008. Consumers' inc...

Facebook: Governments demanded data on 38K users WASHINGTON (AP) — Government agents in 74 countries demanded information on about 38,000 Facebook users in the first half of this year, with about half the orders coming from authorities in the United States, the company said Tuesday. The social-networking giant is the latest technology company to release figures on how often governments seek information about its customers. Microsoft and Google have done the same. As with the other companies,...

Lawmakers plan refresher course on ethics LITTLE ROCK (AP) — With an ex-lawmaker under investigation for his campaign spending money on personal items and the state's lieutenant governor facing questions about his campaign finance reports, Arkansas lawmakers are about to receive a refresher course on the state's ethics laws. House and Senate leaders on Tuesday said they're planning a seminar for members of both chambers to brush up on the state's campaign finance and ethics laws at th...

$5.1 million grant to Clinton National Airport LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' two U.S. senators have announced a $5.1 million grant to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. The U.S. Department of Transportation grant was announced Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican Sen. John Boozman. The funding is to be used to repair the airport's taxiway and runway lighting and to reimburse the airport for land it previously bought for development. Airport director Ronald Mathie...

DHS names new deputy director LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Human Services has named a new deputy director. Keesa M. Smith, 32, will oversee five of the agency's 10 divisions — including Aging and Adult Services, Youth Services, Child Care and Early Childhood Education, Community Service and Nonprofit Support and Services for the Blind. In 2010, Smith began serving as the state implementation director of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. As director...

San Diego mayor agrees to resign SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mayor Bob Filner agreed Friday to resign in return for the city's help defending him against claims he groped, kissed and made lewd comments to women, allegations that shook and embarrassed the city and turned the former 10-term congressman into a national punch line. Filner was regretful and defiant during a City Council meeting as he explained the "the toughest decision of my life." He apologized to his accusers but insisted...

Hagel: US naval forces move closer to Syria ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT OVER THE PACIFIC (AP) — The Pentagon is moving naval forces closer to Syria in preparation for a possible decision by President Barack Obama to order military strikes, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel suggested on Friday. Hagel declined to describe any specific movements of U.S. forces. He said Obama asked that the Pentagon to prepare military options for Syria and that some of those options "requires positioning our fo...

Darr reports campaign errors to ethics panel LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr filed an ethics complaint against himself on Friday over hundreds of dollars his campaign spent at gas stations and restaurants shortly after he took office that were classified as fundraising expenses. Darr, who is seeking the Republican nomination for a southern Arkansas congressional seat, reported the errors days after a website raised questions about the expenses that didn't appear to be rela...